Kiri
A Japanese gender-neutral name meaning "mist" or "fog".
Name Census estimates that about 941 living Americans carry the first name Kiri. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Kiri today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kiri births was 1984 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kiri. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
941
~ 1 in 364,245 Americans
Peak year
1984
60 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2023 SSA rank
#7,405
Tracked since 1963
Gender
Gender distribution for Kiri
Out of the 974 babies given the name Kiri since 1880, 99.5% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Kiri as a male name
- Ranked #13,291 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (5 births)
Kiri as a female name
- Ranked #7,405 in 2024
- 15 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1984 (60 births)
Popularity
Kiri: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kiri from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 305 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kiri by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kiri during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kiris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Kiri, while Florida, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kiri
The name Kiri has its origins in several different languages and cultures. It is a Japanese name that can be written using the kanji characters 霧 or 桐. The kanji 霧 means "mist" or "fog," while 桐 means "paulownia tree." In Japanese, the name is pronounced as "kee-ree."
Kiri is also a name found in the Estonian language, where it means "to write" or "to scratch." In this context, it is likely derived from the Proto-Germanic root *kriz-an, which means "to scratch" or "to carve."
In the Tamil language spoken in southern India and parts of Sri Lanka, the name Kiri is derived from the word "கிரி" (kiri), which means "mountain" or "hill." It is a unisex name in Tamil culture.
The name Kiri has been recorded in various historical texts and records throughout different cultures. In Japanese folklore, Kiri is the name of a legendary princess who was said to have been born from a paulownia tree. This story is found in the Kojiki, a collection of ancient Japanese myths and legends dating back to the 8th century.
In Estonian history, Kiri was the name of a 13th-century Estonian folk hero and rebel leader who fought against the German crusaders during the Livonian Crusade. He is remembered as a symbol of resistance against foreign invaders.
Some notable people named Kiri throughout history include:
1. Kiri Te Kanawa (born 1944), a renowned New Zealand opera singer of Maori and European descent.
2. Kiri Raʻe (born 1983), a New Zealand rugby union player of Tongan descent.
3. Kiri Baga (born 1963), an American actress and model of Estonian descent.
4. Kiri Bai (1835-1858), an Indian poet and writer from the state of Rajasthan, known for her contributions to the Braj Bhasha literature.
5. Kiri Kazhugu (10th century), a Tamil poet and military commander who served under the Chola king Rajaraja Chola I.
While the name Kiri has diverse origins and meanings across different cultures, it has been used as a given name throughout history, often carrying associations with natural elements, literary traditions, or historical figures.
People
Kiri + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kiri as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kiri: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kiri?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 941 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kiri going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 364,245 US residents.
Is Kiri a common name?
We classify Kiri as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 974 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kiri most popular?
The single biggest year for Kiri was 1984, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kiri is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kiri a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Kiri in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.